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DONT MESS IT UP !!! : TODAY IS NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY 2016

The margarita is much more than just a tequila-filled lime concoction with a salted rim that you drink at happy hour at your local Mexican restaurant.

Traditionally, a margarita consists of tequila, orange liqueur, and fresh lime juice. “A little bit of sugar is usually added because that formula is too tart for many people’s palate,” says David Alan, manager of trade education and mixology at Patrón Tequila.

The basic margarita recipe is pretty simple, but “unfortunately over the years the recipe has been corrupted,” Alan says. Artificial mixers have often replaced the naturally flavored, simple classic.

The Margarita is Born

The drink originated in the American Southwest somewhere near the US/Mexican border in the 1930s and ‘40s. “There are a number of origin myths and stories, but they all contribute to the lore of the drink,” says Alan, “but it’s a tequila variation of the whiskey-based Daisy, a drink which was popular at the time.”

During Prohibition and directly after, there was a major shortage of whiskey.

But, across the border in Mexico, the tequila was abundant. “A lot of Americans went across the border to enjoy Mexico’s drinking culture during Prohibition on this side,” Alan says.

Since “Margarita” translates to “daisy,” it doesn’t take much of a stretch of the imagination to assume that a handful of bartenders could have made this logical leap and “invented” this cocktail in numerous locations.

More than Just a Salted Rim

“I think people have been burned by bad margaritas—heartburned, that is,”says Alan. Once you’ve tasted a fresh margarita, the taste of an artificially flavored cocktail sticks out like a sore thumb. “It’s cloying and makes you feel like you’re going to get a cavity just drinking it.” You can find these poorly made drinks at fine steakhouses and upscale clubs, where you’re paying way too much money to get a bad drink.

Alan believes there are five ways to ruin a classic margarita. Try to avoid these common mistakes.

Five Ways to Ruin a Margarita:

Cheap tequila –“It has to be good quality 100% agave tequila. It amazes me how much bad tequila is still poured in bars and restaurants and homes in this country.”

Bad technique –“You have to shake sour style drinks to chill, dilute, and aerate them properly. When I see the cocktail built in the glass and not shaken I feel like they are doing the drink a disservice.”

Artificial Mixer -“The drink should be sweetened with orange liqueur such as Patrón Citrónge, maybe a spoonful of sugar or agave nectar. Never with a high fructose corn syrup-sweetened mixer.”

Bad Garnish -“I know this may seem like I’m being picayune, but this happens all the time. A good, or even a great drink, can have everything right, but then a dried out lime wedge can mess it all up. Take a look at the next several lime garnishes you get. If they are brown and dried out around the edges, you will know what I’m talking about.”

Getting Out of the Funk

American bartenders are experiencing a renaissance of classic techniques with cocktails, and are once again using the fresh ingredients that were prominent before the cocktail business “industrialized” in the 1970s.

While "Flavor" is very subjective, and each country that grows mangoes is very nationalistic, these are the mango varieties that are the most sought after around the world because of sweetnesss (Brix) and demand.The Chaunsa has a Brix rating in the 22 degree level which is unheard of!Carabao claims to be the sweetest mango in the world and was able to register this in the Guiness book of world records.Perhaps it is time for a GLOBAL taste test ???

Mangaluru: Vagaries of nature is expected to take a toll on the production of King of Fruits - Mango - in Karnataka this year. A combination of failure of pre-monsoon showers at the flowering and growth stage and spike in temperature in mango growing belt of the state is expected to limit the total production of mango to an estimated 12 lakh tonnes in the current season as against 14 lakh tonnes in the last calendar year.

However, the good news for fruit lovers is that this could see price of mangoes across varieties decrease marginally by 2-3%. This is mainly on account of 'import' of the fruit from other mango-growing states in India, said M Kamalakshi Rajanna, chairperson, Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation Ltd.

Karnataka is the third largest mango-growing state in India after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Inaugurating a two-day Vasanthotsava organized by Shivarama Karantha Pilikula Nisargadhama and the Corporation at P…